1. Field of the Invention
High speed water craft apparatus including a twin hull design which supports an aerodynamically designed body structure for creating a venturi chamber beneath the craft. A hydrodynamic power pod is provided for improving the hydrodynamic environment in which the craft power means is operating.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The speed and stability of water craft are generally limited by the intrinsic nature of the environment in which they operate. Most small water craft are intended to be propelled through water by means of power supplied by an outboard motor, an inboard motor or a jet type propulsion system. Because of the weight of the craft, a large portion of the craft remains immersed in the water while the craft is being propelled forward. Because of the scientific laws of hydrodynamics, this immersion of the craft in the water produces hydrodynamic drag and limits the maximum operating speed of such craft.
Various attempts have been made to increase the speed of a small water craft by providing means for raising the front portion of the craft out of the water, thereby reducing the amount of the craft hull which remains wetted and which thus causes hydrodynamic drag. While various hull designs have been created which allow the water craft to plane in the water and thus to raise the front portion of the water craft above the water surface, e.g., V-hull boats and tunnel boats, such craft have proven to be generally unstable because of the aerodynamic forces which act on the craft at high speeds once the front portion of the craft is elevated. Thus, the same hull design which acts to raise the front portion of the craft above the water surface also adversely affects the stability of the craft which results from the aerodynamic forces acting upon it at high speeds. These forces take several forms including a tendency for the front end of the craft to pitch up adversely if the craft encounters rough water or if a gust of wind acts upon the craft, or the cyclic buffeting of the craft due to variations in the hydrodynamic and aerodynamic forces acting on the up-raised bow of the craft. Such forces can result in loss of control of the craft, a flip-over of the craft or continuous and possibly damaging stressing of the craft.
In addition to the existence of stability problems with presently available high-speed boats, the various hull designs which have been created to increase the speed of the craft have failed to completely remedy adverse effects which the craft hull have on the hydrodynamic operating environment of the craft power means. For instance, in the case of an outboard motor which is used on a recreational water craft, the submerged portion of the craft hull may cause adverse conditions to exist in the water environment which surrounds the prop of the motor and thus produce cavitation and other hydrodynamically retarding forces upon the motor prop. These deficiencies in craft hull design may tend to limit the ultimate operating speed of the craft.